»PICO« junior
letter scale

This letter scale with the name »PICO« junior was made by the unknown company Horst Piworus from Hamburg, Germany. First an advertising postcard turned up (at Ritzo Holtman), and then I found the letter scale on a German auction site. The frame of the scale is made of die-cast zinc. The numbers and stripes of the measuring scale are lower in relief in the surface and are painted white. The model name is embossed on top of the face of the frame. On the back of the frame there is a logo, probably from the foundry. I haven't found the correct meaning of it yet. In addition to the cast zinc, the text on the postcard mentions Light Metal (in German: Leichtmetall) as the material used, but this is not the case. The mechanism and mounting bracket on the frame, as well as the letter plate, are made of magnetic steel. The counterweight with mounting screw and the zero adjustment screw are made of brass. Only a few connecting rivets are made of aluminum. The 50 grams scale has a stripe for every gram, on the second scale up to 250 grams there is a clear stripe for every five grams. The Pico is 22 centimeters high, the diameter of the letter plate is 9 cm. I have no idea if a Pico senior also exists. The advertising postcard mentions the address Forsmannstr. 20 as the business address of Horst Piworus. The postcard is addressed to the company K.G.W. Eigenbrodt at the same address! According to Hamburg address books, Eigenbrodt did business in Feinmechanik und Präzisionswaagen (= Precision mechanics and precision scales) at house number 20 from 1947 to 1951. In 1952 at house number 18a, and in 1953 at house number 20b. Horst Piworus can only be found in the Hamburg address book of 1950 under the heading Schnitte und Stanzen (= Cutting and punching). It is unclear to me what relationship existed between Piworus and Eigenbrodt. The silhouette of the Pico letter scale somewhat resembles the letter scales of Jakob Maul, see for example here, both have the characteristic bend on the left in the horizontal part of the frame.
Below are some more images of the »PICO« junior letter scale.